The programme with works by Nielsen, Schumann and Sibelius will mark the debut of the cellist Zlatomir Fung

 

Under the name Sol Escandinavo (Scandinavian Sun), the Sinfónica de Tenerife is tackling its seventeenth show of the 2023/24 season, featuring Emilia Hoving as conductor and Zlatomir Fung as guest soloist.  The concert, with works by Nielsen, Schumann and Sibelius, will take place this Friday (31st May), starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorio de Tenerife.

For Fung himself, this concerto is “written like a long and vivid dream, bursting with many emotions: tenderness, terror, curiosity, loneliness, joy, and much more.” In addition to highlighting his “excitement about performing with the Orchestra for the first time”, he emphasises “the beautiful duo in the second movement between the solo cellist and the orchestra’s principal cello, a unique moment in the repertoire.”

Helios Overture, op.17, is a composition by Carl Nielsen written in 1903, evoking the Mediterranean myth of the Sun god after his brief three-month stay in Greece.   The different instruments imitate the star's movement, from sunrise to sunset, intensifying at the zenith with solemn and majestic fanfare of metal instruments, culminating in an expected fugue as the listener slips into the twilight.

It will be followed by a performance of the Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, by Robert Schumann. This score, written in Düsseldorf and dated 1850, was completed in just two weeks. However, it was not premiered until a decade after the composer’s death. It was structured around three movements with an ongoing dialogue between the orchestra and the soloist -although, without soloist exuberance, it transmits the melancholy and passion that accompanied the German composer’s creations.

After the interlude, it will be the turn of Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 by Jean Sibelius, premiered in 1915 to celebrate his fiftieth birthday, although it would undergo subsequent revisions before taking its definitive form in 1919.  It is a work that conveys light and optimism, in which the Finnish author applies a new cyclical or rotational symphonic structure, where the main musical ideas reappear endlessly throughout the performance.

Emilia Hoving studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with the teachers Sakari Oramo and Atso Almila and began her studies in 2015 with Jorma Panula. In 2021, she won the Best Arts Newcomer prize by Finnish critics. She is currently considered one of the most influential young Finnish conductors.

Her diverse professional background notably includes her role as an assistant to Hannu Lintu at the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (2019) and to Mikko Franck at the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (2020-22). These positions have contributed significantly to her quick career progression and her period as an assistant with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, which included performing a concert with Bruckner and Zimmermann's works.

On the international scene, she has performed with different orchestras, such as the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de Lille, as well as the Helsinki Philharmonic, to name a few. She has conducted at the Wiener Konzerthaus and made her debut in Germany when she was an assistant at the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducting the orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonic. This season she will conduct the orchestra again in Paris with the global premiere of Nucleus, by Jean-Louis Agobet.

Zlatomir Fung, the current artist in residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, began playing the cello at the age of just three and obtained several scholarships such as that of Ravinia's Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp y el Aspen Music Festival and School.   He was also awarded a Kovner scholarship, which enabled him to study at the Julliard School under the guidance of Richard Aaron. He was the youngest-ever soloist to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

His upcoming engagements notably include his performance at the Cadogan Hall in London and a tour around the United Kingdom with the RPO.   In North America and Asia, he made his debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, appeared with the symphony orchestras of Baltimore and Shanghai, and was on tour in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. His most recent concerts are notable for his debut with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, BBC Philharmonic and Dallas Symphony.

Regarding the most relevant international recitals, there have been numerous appearances at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the festivals of Verbier, Dresden, Janáček May and Tsinandali, Cello Biennale, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, ChamberFest Cleveland, and Aspen Music Festival.

As usual, the Tenerife Association for Friends of Music ATADEM will give a preliminary talk, to explain the three different works of this concert. The talk will be provided by José Lorenzo Chinea Cáceres, at 6:30 p.m. in the Sala Avenida, located in the hall of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

The tickets for this concert can be purchased until the day of the event on the website www.sinfonicadetenerife.es, at the auditorium's box office and by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.